Christmas came and went quickly. My gifts were a little underwhelming, but I was grateful nevertheless. I got airpods and a few gift cards from my parents, a beautiful necklace from Finn, a record player from Jack, and a Starbucks gift card from Ellie. The camp kids and I pitched in to give Finn a new electric guitar, I gave Jack a new skateboard, and I gave Ellie a glossier gift card. What I was looking forward to more was the New Year's Eve party the group was planning. Jack invited everyone from school, Sophia set up a dj booth in Jack's backyard with a perfect playlist curated by Finn, Jaeden and Wyatt had worked together to set up a karaoke machine, and Chosen had somehow gotten champagne. Jack's parents were coming to my house for my parent's new years eve party, which meant we had the whole house to ourselves. The camp boys, Ellie and Sophia were skating around the block, taking turns on Jack's new board, and Finn and I were walking around together. He was smoking, which I didn't really mind anymore. I knew it could very well kill him, but it was something he couldn't control. There was something about the smell of cigarettes mixed with Finn that was intoxicating. I couldn't get enough of him. He had his arm around me, shielding me from the cold winter air, and we were sharing my new airpods. Jeremy kept insisting I put them away, because apparently I was "flexing on everyone."

"Do you know who's coming to the party?" Finn asked me. I recounted the list Jack had described to me earlier.

"Is Millie Brown coming?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, I forgot to talk to you about her!" I said. I felt Finn tense up under his coat.

"What?" he huffed.

"She's like in love with you, right? Lilia told me," I informed him. He relaxed a bit.

"Oh, yeah. What a weirdo. I hope she isn't coming," he spilled.

"Unfortunately Lilia was invited, and she's basically a package deal with Millie. Sucks for us," I said.

"Yep. Sucks," Finn grumbled, stamping out his cigarette.

"At least we get to have a new years kiss," I giggled, snuggling into his cheek. He pulled me in dramatically and kissed me.

"How many times do we have to tell you, get a room!" Jaeden shouted at us, zooming by on Jack's board. We broke apart laughing and resumed our walk. Finn was simply perfect.

New Years rolled around, and we could hardly contain our excitement. The house was decorated with streamers and golden balloons, thanks to Wyatt and Sophia. Finn met me at my house a few minutes before so we could arrive together. My parent's new years party that would be occupying Jack's parents had already started. Adults were mingling around in the house, and I was waiting by the door for Finn. I saw him walking up the driveway and I opened the door before he had the chance to knock. He was dressed in the blue sweater he had been wearing when we had gone to the movies months previously under an army green coat, and he looked incredible. I was sporting a low cut red velvet top and some black jeans, with my hair in a sleek ponytail and light makeup applied to my face.

"You look great," we said in unison upon seeing each other, and laughed.

"Should we go?" he asked, offering me his arm. I accepted and we walked to Jack's house quickly, to avoid getting too cold. His house was already full of people upon us entering. Music could be heard from the backyard. I spotted Sophia, dressed in a black shirt and skirt, standing by the stairwell and chatting with Lilia and Millie. I took Finn's hand and dragged him over to her.

"Hi! You look so good," I greeted her. She gave me her typical warm smile.

"You do too! And so do you, Finn," she responded.

"Hi Lilia, Millie," I added out of politeness.

"Hello, Madison! You look utterly spectacular," Millie said in her accent. I gave her a fake smile and started talking to Sophia. Millie and Lilia wandered off somewhere.

"Is it ok if I grab a drink?" Finn asked me.

"Of course. I'll catch up with you later," I answered. Just then, Jaeden and Wyatt came up behind Sophia.

"Sophia, wanna go do some karaoke with us?" Wyatt asked. "Hey Madison," he added. I smiled.

"Sure!" she responded. Jaeden gave me a small wave and the three of them proceeded to the backyard. I wandered around aimlessly, making small talk with people from school. Chosen was talking to Lilia, but Millie was nowhere to be found. Neither was Finn.

"Jack, have you seen Finn?" I asked him. Jack was standing next to the table full of snacks and drinks, holding a classic red solo cup.

"No, sorry. I've been busy with Ellie," he said in an implicative tone. Rolling my eyes, I wandered off again. Sophia had come back inside from the yard, and I could hear Wyatt and Jaeden singing "You're Welcome" from the iconic movie Moana in the backyard. Jeremy was standing alone in the corner, watching everything wistfully. I decided to join him, picking up a red solo cup filled with whatever was in the punch glass, and noticing that his eyes seemed to follow Sophia wherever she went.

"Hey Jer," I said with a small smile. The boy jumped and turned to me.

"Hey, Madison. Sorry, didn't see you there." His eyes wandered again to look at the back of Sophia's head.

"Go talk to her," I nudged him. He looked at me nervously.

"Go talk to who?" He asked. I smiled.

"Sophia. I see the way you look at her."

"I don't know what y-you're talking about. Sophia is just my friend. My really nice and pretty friend. Besides, she likes Wyatt, its obvious," he rambled. The kid did have a point, but I was almost sure Sophia and Wyatt were just friends.

"Here, this will help," I said, offering him the drink I had required on the way there. He paused for a second before taking the drink, downing it in one huge sip, and walking over to Sophia with a farewell nod towards me. It was around 11:30, and I was once again alone. Finn was still missing, Jack was doing "stuff" with Ellie, Sophia was still talking to Jeremy, Chosen was talking to Lilia, and Wyatt and Jaeden were watching the new year's eve special on ABC. In a house full of people, I felt alone. I made my way to the kitchen to pick up some champagne for me and hopefully Finn, if he turned up. I settled on accompanying Jaeden and Wyatt in the tv room to watch the ball drop. The room was crowded, and there was only five minutes until the new year. I spotted Jack and Ellie sitting on the couch next to Lilia, Chosen and a few other people.

Sophia was talking to Wyatt, and Jeremy to Jaeden. Jeremy didn't look sad, so his talk with Sophia either went well, or he simply didn't get around to telling her his purpose. Either way, he seemed happy. I looked around nervously for Finn. It was two minutes to midnight. Finally, I felt a hand on my back.

"Hey," he whispered in my ear.

"Where were you?" I asked him. I handed him the champagne I had collected for him previously.

"Around the party! Mingling, living life, ya know?" I couldn't help but smile. I decided it was best not to pursue the matter further.

"The ball is about to drop, folks! This is the last few moments of this year!" Ryan Seacrest blared from the tv. Everyone's attention returned to the television, where the ball was being displayed.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" the room chanted. Usually I hated new year's countdowns, but this year I didn't mind so much. Finn kissed me as everyone cheered in the new year. We broke apart after a few seconds.

"Happy New Year," he said, and grinned.